HSSC appointments: Flooded with applications, state government yet to decide

The Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government has been talking about giving a push to recruitment for government jobs in the state, but it is still to reconstitute the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) whose chairman and members were removed more than three months ago.

The Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government has been talking about giving a push to recruitment for government jobs in the state, but it is still to reconstitute the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) whose chairman and members were removed more than three months ago.

The state government has been flooded with applications - 840, to be precise - for the posts of chairman and six members of the commission. The applicants, who were given time till December 31 to submit their applications, include retired IAS officers, second-rung political leaders, educationists and lawyers.

A few of them have started to do the rounds of the corridors of power to push their case, with some even claiming allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

However, the government, whose slow decision-making on important issues and key appointments is already a talking point, has not moved forward since.

The collegium, comprising education and transport minister Ram Bilas Sharma, chief secretary and the legal remembrancer-cum-law secretary, which has to study the applications and recommend select names to the government, has still not held its meeting. As per the procedure, the state government appoints the chairman and members on the recommendation of the three-member collegium.

The state council of ministers had taken the decision to remove the chairman and members of the commission, which is competent to make selections for appointment to Class III posts in government departments and municipal bodies, in its meeting chaired by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on November 25. Though no official reason was cited by the new regime for their removal, government sources attributed their ouster to their “proximity to powers that be in the previous regime”.

While Vijay Kumar was the HSSC chairman, the members included Ashok Jain, Vinay Sharma, Ram Sharan Bhola, Lalit Kumar, Pratap Mudgal and Paramveer.

In December, the government had written to all divisional commissioners to recommend names of five persons with details of qualifications, field of eminence and social activities by December 31 for consideration of the collegium.

While no advertisement inviting applications was issued, the government received hundreds of applications as the word spread. “A few were received after the deadline was over, but these would not be considered,” said an official.

Recruitment to government jobs in the state has been marred by charges of irregularities, nepotism, and corruption, with HSSC also hitting the headlines from time to time for wrong reasons.

In the recent past, a large number of selections made by different recruitment boards and commissions have been scrapped by the courts due to malpractices in selections. Though the new government is making the right noises, including limiting the marks for interview for appointments at 10% of the marks of written examination or academic criteria, on the matter, it has not been able to follow it up with quick action everywhere.

The CM appears keen on the cap on interview marks, but not everyone appears to be on the same page in the government.

NO REPLACEMENT FOR KISAN AYOG CHIEF

In agriculture sector also, the Haryana government has not been able to find a replacement for Haryana Kisan Ayog chairman and renowned agriculture scientist, Dr Rajendra Singh Paroda.

A Padma Bhushan awardee, Dr Paroda, who specialised in plant breeding and genetics and has been associated with top organisations, quit the Kisan Ayog five days after the BJP government took over in October last year.

Though there was no indication from the government to Dr Paroda to quit, his resignation was widely seen as a consequence of the change in government. His exit, according to sources, has affected the functioning of the farm commission. navneetsharma@hindustantimes.com